Quarterback Nick Doscher and running back Dominique Williams have led the Wagner offense during the Seahawks' six-game winning streak.Staten Island Advance/Bill Lyons

Wagner College has some business to take care of Saturday, with Holy Cross paying a visit to Grymes Hill for a relatively rare meeting between the Northeast Conference and Patriot League.

But the Seahawks couldn’t be blamed for keeping an eye on a game being played in Pittsburgh, where a victory by host Duquesne over Albany would clinch Wagner’s first NEC championship and nail down a bid to the NCAA playoffs.

Of course, Seahawk coaches have spent the week trying to purge the troops of any thoughts other than their own game, hoping tough love will keep a team with a six-game winning streak on the straight and narrow path.

“This is a trap game if I’ve ever seen one,” said Wagner defensive coordinator Malik Hall, whose unit ranks No. 1 in NEC scoring defense and total defense.

Holy Cross has stumbled to a 1-8 overall record, but the Crusaders’ season has followed a harrowing pattern epitomized by last weekend’s 36-35 loss to nationally-ranked Lehigh. They rolled up 527 yards of offense and watched a 42-yard field goal sail wide right in the waning seconds.

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HOLY CROSS at WAGNER AT A GLANCE 

THE MATCHUP Holy Cross (1-8) at Wagner (6-3)

WHERE/WHEN At Hameline Field, Grymes Hill Saturday, 1 p.m.

SHORT YARDAGE This will be the first meeting between the Crusaders of the Patriot League and the Seahawks of the Northeast Conference ... The Patriot League holds a 4-2 lead over the NEC in head-to-head matchups this season ... Wagner senior quarterback Nick Doscher and sophomore cornerback Jarrett Dieudonne earned NEC offensive and defensive player-of-the-week honors following a 30-0 shutout at Albany ... It’s Pop Warner Day on Grymes Hill.

LIVE COVERAGE A video webcast will be available on www.necfrontrow.com and live stats available at www.wagnerathletics.com.

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All eight of Holy Cross’ losses have come at the hands of teams with winning records and the Crusaders have played the third hardest schedule in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), according to the NCAA. Lehigh and New Hampshire are both ranked in the Top 10 and Harvard is listed at No. 25 in one poll this week.

“They’re very productive on offense,” said Hall. “They run the ball as well as they pass it, but because they throw so much you forget they can run the ball. It’s a wide-open attack and wew haven’t been challenged like this before.

“We don’t face wide-open attacks like that in our league. We don’t have teams that line up with four or five wide receivers and throw maybe 60 times a game. So this is a good test and even a better test if we’re going to be in the (NCAA) playoffs.”

Wagner’s formula for clinching an automatic bid to the 20-team FCS national tournament is 1) a victory over Duquesne a week from Saturday on Senior Day or 2) An Albany loss either at Duquesne or the following week at home against Central Connecticut State.

Only the Seahawks and Great Danes remain alive in the NEC equation, and only the Seahawks hold their fate in their own hands. Wagner spanked host Albany 30-0 last week to take control of the race with a 6-1 record. Albany stands at 5-1.

Holy Cross employs a pair of sophomore quarterbacks in Steven Elder and Ryan Laughlin. Both threw a pair of TD passes against Lehigh — the Patriot League leader which remained at No. 8 and No. 5 in a pair of national polls with a 9-0 record.

Junior wide receiver Mike Fess of Caldwell, N.J., leads the Crusaders with 64 receptions for 634 yards and four TDs. Head coach Tom Gilmore is in his ninth season and won Patriot League coach-of-the-year honors in 2006 and 2009.

All of which adds to Wagner head coach Walt Hameline’s anxiety this week.

“Any time you come off a big conference win, you’re concerned about whether they’re going to be focused for the next game,” he said. “I think it’s the best offense we’ve faced all year. They have the ability to put a lot of points on the board and they’ve played some great football teams.”

Hameline all but covered his ears when asked about his team’s NCAA playoff aspirations.

“I really don’t want to talk about it ... that’s for next week,” he said. “We need to win this game and go on a seven-game winning streak and that’s the only thing that matters right now.

“On the other hand, my head’s not in the sand either. I know the players are all thinking of a NEC championship. That’s one of our goals. But that goal can’t be obtained in our next game. We’re stressing this game in front of us.”

NOTES: Senior quarterback Nick Doscher continues to lead the NCAA in passing efficiency (143.8 rating) and has thrown 143 consecutive passes without an interception dating to the season opener at Florida Atlantic. On the year, he has eight TD passes and one interception ... The Seahawks rank fourth nationally in scoring defense, allowing 14.67 points per game and sixth in pass defense (157.44 yards per game) ... Senior linebacker C.O. Prime is the leading tackler with 66 on a unit that has become increasingly dominant as the season winds down ... The Seahawks continue their impressive streak of six consecutive games without a turnover. 